Dove: A company culture working on redefining beauty worldwide
A health and beauty industry brand focused on creating confidence and body positivity for all
By Giovana Rodriguez
Having a company, it is necessary to connect to all communities, especially your target audience. I love Dove’s initiative in not only showing that they care about self-empowerment for their consumers but in a way selling this idea when purchasing their products. Through the consistent messaging of loving who you are and developing your own definition of “beauty”. I am determined to learn if Dove follows the public relations paradigm and is a part of the community through its external communication efforts.
According to Professor Kimberly Keller, instructor in JOUR 3420, public relations is “not only about building mutually beneficial relationships, but it also goes back to the managerial and cultural structure of the organization.” Keller brings up the point that a company's culture trickles down to the overall presence in the industry that attracts customers to be loyal.
Making an Effortless Look through Web Content
The structure is simplistic and navigational for all audiences to access Dove. Through the layout, Dove as a brand likes to be approached effortlessly and naturally to all to be able to use including in the website structure. The content has major keywords like beauty, body positivity and breaking social norms throughout the website to help create an image. Dove upholds this image through their consistent uploads relating to the topics and by creating separate tabs on the website to engage as a community. This engagement is created by providing resources for those who struggle with the concept of self-confidence and beauty to educate themselves rather than by solely using their products.
Showing All Types of Beauty on Social Media
Dove recognizes as a company the impact social media has in all aspects of life. It is important to note that not only does your brand need to thrive on social media, but as well as the consumers also consume media that later impacts their perception of self-worth. On their platforms, you can see different forms of content and information relating to their mission as a company. In recent years, an influx of social media influencers that promote body positivity can be seen through their feed, an example can be seen in Dove’s global Instagram. Social media has also helped serve as a source to be a part of campaigns that promote beauty from the inside and outside perspectives. Dove stays aware of trends and promotes D, E and I efforts through their posts that gain positive feedback from consumers in creating a community.
#ShowUs Campaign Setting a Standard for PR
Dove has a reputation built and maintained by their PR campaigns that initiate and connect their consumers to the company. That doesn’t necessarily mean that all their campaigns have gone as anticipated. In 2017, following the” Real Beauty Campaign” one of their advertisements was not created correctly that it came off as racist. As a result, Dove not only released an official statement on the incident holding accountability but also came back from this advertising failure stronger through their PR efforts.
Later, Dove created another campaign called #Show Us that got its consumers involved and recuperated its image. Consumers of the brand and those that support body positivity posted themselves as the true version of beauty through social media platforms, especially on Instagram contained higher engagement. It is still an ongoing campaign that shows beauty is diverse and is globally accepted to be beautiful on your own terms and not by social standards.
Overall, Dove has proven to be a brand that not only sells products but is also involved in ensuring it is part of a social change in the stigma of beauty standards. Through their campaigns, social media and presence as a company, they show that they are supporters of all forms of beauty and that they are willing to ensure that everyone feels empowered. According to Comparably, Dove has a high rate of customer loyalty to the brand, which can be correlated to the efforts made on behalf of the company to connect with the community. Dove’s consistent research efforts and going beyond the product to connect with its customers is the most crucial way to remain relevant as a brand today. With the combination of Dove’s communications team and culture, it is evident that they are on the right track and have a good PR structure that has made them a successful global company.
About the Author Giovana Rodriguez is a new and driven PR professional that is ready to leave her mark in the industry. She was born and raised in Dallas, Texas, and is excited to venture out into the world through her career. Giovana studied at the University of North Texas and received her bachelor's degree in journalism with a concentration in public relations and a minor in Spanish.
Sources: https://www.dove.com/us/en/home.html https://www.comparably.com/brands/dove https://www.linkedin.com/in/kim-helminski-keller/ https://www.prweek.com/article/1582147/doves-real-beauty-campaign-won-nearly-lost-its- audience https://www.dove.com/us/en/dove-self-esteem-project/school-workshops-on-body-image- confident-me.html https://www.dove.com/us/en/stories/campaigns/showus.html https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/08/dove-apologises-for-ad-showing-black-woman- turning-into-white-one https://www.instagram.com/dove/?hl=en